The present invention relates to a remote-control system for locks with a mobile infrared transmitter for generating and radiating in a contactless manner directional, coded control signals upon actuation of at least one transmitting key. A first receiver is tuned to the transmitter and is arranged on the motor vehicle for receiving and for processing the coded control signals transmitted by the transmitter and for triggering switching effects on a remote-controlled vehicle locking system. There is a receptacle in the motor vehicle for the transmitter, and at least one optical cable leading into a region of the receptacle that carries signals from the transmitter. A second receiver corresponds at least indirectly to the optical cable, and triggers switching effects on a further locking device upon the reception of signals triggered by the transmitter located in the receptacle and conducted through the optical cable.
A remote-control system of the above-described type is known from German Patent Document DE 3,043,627 C2. It is based on a mobile infrared hand-held transmitter which can be used outside a vehicle for the remote control of the vehicle locking system or of an electrical garage door drive and which can be inserted inside the vehicle into a receptacle, its transmitting key being automatically actuated and a security device being switched off by the triggered signal via an optical cable and a separate receiver.
A remote-control system is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,543,789 which permits a garage door drive to be controlled via two transmitters arranged permanently in a vehicle, these transmitters both being activatable from the passenger compartment to produce and transmit signals. A control of vehicle locking system functions or an arrangement of the transmitters which can be detached from the vehicle is not disclosed in this publication.
An object of the invention is to permit a better and more comfortable usability of the mobile (hand-held) transmitter of a remote-control system.
This and other objects are achieved by the present invention which provides a remote-control system for locks with a mobile infrared transmitter for generating and radiating in a contactless manner directional, coded control signals upon actuation of at least one transmitting key. A first receiver is tuned to the transmitter and is arranged on the motor vehicle for receiving and for processing the coded control signals transmitted by the transmitter and for triggering switching effects on a remote-controlled vehicle locking system. There is a receptacle in the motor vehicle for the transmitter, and at least one optical cable leading into a region of the receptacle that carries signals from the transmitter. A second receiver corresponds at least indirectly to the optical cable, and triggers switching effects on a further locking device upon the reception of signals triggered by the transmitter located in the receptacle and conducted through the optical cable. The optical cable is extended, starting from the receptacle for the hand-held transmitter up to at least one exit hole arranged in or directly behind the vehicle body outer skin, so that the signals of the hand-held transmitter located in the receptacle can pass to the second receiver located outside the vehicle.
In particular, with embodiments of the present invention, a second receiver which is assigned to a garage door drive can be actuated without the vehicle user having to take the transmitter out of the receptacle and align it with the second receiver. This is of course principally advantageous if the infrared hand-held transmitter is combined with the mechanical ignition key in a manner already known (e.g. German Patent Documents DE 3,314,072 C2, DE 3,828,794 A1). Then, the ignition key does not have to be specially pulled out of the ignition/starting lock, which in this case serves as a "receptacle" of the hand-held transmitter, in order to be able to control the garage door drive.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one exit hole of the optical cable is advantageously arranged behind a transparent cover which is present in any case in the form of the lenses of the headlights or other light sources, or even behind the passenger compartment windows.
Preferably, the at least one exit hole is arranged at the front of the motor vehicle. However, a plurality of exit holes can be provided which are then arranged, for example, in pairs on the front and rear of the motor vehicle.
The embodiments of the present invention provide the possibility of providing a signal transducer in the optical cable, which signal transducer matches, with preferably different coding of the first receiver (vehicle-internal) and of the second receiver (vehicle-external), the coded signals of the hand-held transmitter tuned to the code of the first receiver and to the code of the second receiver. This has the advantage that a misplaced or stolen hand-held transmitter cannot be readily misused to open the garage. In addition, this effectively and reliably prevents both receivers responding simultaneously when the infrared hand-held transmitter is used outside the vehicle.
Due to the relatively high degree of bundling of the radiation of the infrared transmission, it is not to be expected when using the infrared hand-held transmitter inside the vehicle or receptacle that even the first receiver responds. If it does, a suitable, e.g. mechanical, shielding can be readily used to remedy this.
The signal transducer is connected via a plug-in connection to the optical cable according to an embodiment of the present invention, so that when the vehicle is sold it can be readily pulled off and replaced by a different signal transducer or a simple bypass. In another embodiment the signal transducer is an independent transmitter in which the same code as in the second receiver is stored and which can be actuated to emit its code signal by the hand-held transmitter via the optical cable between receptacle and plug-in connection. This code signal is then transmitted via the branches of the optical cable to the exit holes in the vehicle body outer skin.
Another embodiment provides for the injection of transmitter signals into optical waveguides, which, as proposed in German Patent Document DE-Utility Model 88 04 929, are provided in any case in the vehicle for guiding the light of signalling lamps, these optical waveguides leading into the outer skin of the vehicle as light exit surfaces of these signalling lamps.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.